Re: RARA-AVIS: Postmodernism/Woolrich

From: jacquesdebierue ( jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com)
Date: 24 Sep 2007


--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Moore" <moorich@...> wrote:
<<I couldn't agree more. As Nevins was writing an introduction to WALTZ, I wasn't surprised at his next line: "But Woolrich's maniacal power as a writer makes it next to impossible to think like a critic, and we are trapped in his net like Louis in the woman- web.">>

Very astute observation. Borges made the same observation about Cervantes, namely, that he silences criticism. A college student
_could_ take his work apart and rewrite it more stylishly, but the voice is so powerful that the defects, even very visible ones, don't matter. I confess to having the same weakness as Nevins regarding Woolrich. It's not that I can't analyze his stories and novels, but I don't want to and I know that what I could say is irrelevant. There aren't very many writers who are so markedly "refractory to criticism"... and while Cervantes was a normal guy, a street-smart soldier and adventurer, Woolrich is unfathomable as a person. What a phenomenon!

Best,

mrt



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